Ontario premier says he has confidence in PM, rejects that Team Canada is fraying. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he would like to see his fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney be "a little more vocal" in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat. As the premiers gathered in Charlottetown this week, Ford was the most...
Mike Layton, a former Toronto city councillor and son of the late New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, is considering a run for the NDP in the upcoming Beaches—East York federal byelection, the Star has learned. Layton would be a big catch for Avi Lewis and the New Democrats, who have been shut out of Toronto by the Liberals since...
United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says he hopes to provide "options" by the end of the year to U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada and Mexico on renewing the continental trade pact. At the start of July, Greer said the United States would not renew the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA. That decision triggered annual rolling reviews...
The proposed agreement in principle for the Gordie Howe International Bridge confirms that Canada will share half of net toll revenues with the U.S. for the first 15 years. Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that Canada and the U.S. would share net revenues from the Gordie Howe International Bridge after operational costs for 15 years, but the two...
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says he's open to a west-east pipeline being pitched by his counterparts in Alberta and Ontario. Kinew says the pipeline could make Canada stronger and there are workers in his province who would be eager to help build it. But he says major projects like pipelines need to be built the right way, by addressing environmental...
A new Ottawa Compass municipal survey conducted in partnership with Liaison Strategies finds Mayor Mark Sutcliffe leading the Ottawa mayoral race, while Alex Lawson and Jeff Leiper are effectively tied for second place. Among all voters, Sutcliffe leads with 24%, followed by Leiper and Lawson at 17% each, Neil Saravanamuttoo at 7%, someone else at 1%, and 34% undecided.
Latest Spark Insights survey shows two thirds would prefer a Carney government to one led by Pierre Poilievre. Since the start of 2026, our survey results have found that two out of three Canadians generally approve of the performance of the Carney government. There has been very little fluctuation during that period of time, all of it essentially within what...
The premiers of Manitoba and New Brunswick say they feel a responsibility to defend a united Canada amid separatist forces in Alberta and Quebec. The provincial leaders are making the case for national unity at the Council of the Federation's summer meeting on Prince Edward Island. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says premiers should speak up on the two provinces' sovereignty...
Canada's High Commissioner to the U.K. Bill Blair says the government is engaged in talks to urge the U.K. to reconsider joining its multinational defence bank now that Andy Burnham is the country's new prime minister. The Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, also known as the DSRB, is a Canada-led financial institution in the works that's aimed at giving low-cost...
It all started about fifty years ago, in the backyard of my parents’ house in La Tuque, a small town roughly 130 kilometres north of Shawinigan. Our home sat on the edge of town, and just behind it was a gorgeous forest — my playground, my refuge, my world. Then one day, a work crew arrived and began cutting it...
As I write this, there are 912 days until noon on January 20th, 2029. That will be the moment, at the latest, that Donald Trump will no longer be president of the United States. Between here and there, anything is possible, but certain things are more probable than others. Donald Trump’s affinity for tariffs on products, whether they are protected...
On a week that Donald Trump has been throwing his weight around with Canada, there is something deeply satisfying in hearing Premier Doug Ford punch back. “I’m tired of the bully trying to take our lunch money all the time,” Ford said about Trump’s latest round of punitive tariff threats. “We always seem to be on our back heels. We...
If Canadians think that our problems with our neighbours will go away once their leader is enjoying his reward — either in the hereafter or a federal prison — we should contemplate the profound and irrational unfriendliness his followers have displayed in the past week. Robin Williams once said that Canada is “like a really nice apartment over a meth lab.”
We were best friends. Great neighbours. Our economies intertwined and we sold lots of things to one another. Crossing a border felt more like visiting a relative than a different country.
Donald Trump is counting on Canada having weak resolve — freaking out and turning on each other and crawling to him with fresh concessions, in the face of his latest menacing of our economy. The next month will be about proving him wrong. And so far, we’re not off to a half-bad start.
Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 – yes, that tariff act, aka the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the law that famously turned a stock market crash into a worldwide depression – authorizes the President of the United States to impose tariffs on imports from foreign countries that impose “any unreasonable charge, exaction, regulation, or limitation which is not equally...
This spring, Canada made history when astronaut Jeremy Hansen became the first Canadian to fly around the moon in NASA’s Artemis II mission. It took nearly a decade of training, engineering and preparation to get there. It took only 10 days to complete the mission itself. By contrast, it takes 10 to 15 years to get a new drug developed...
Gordie Howe was famous for being tough on the ice. The Canadian NHL legend didn’t pick fights. But he never backed down from one either and he always found a way to keep the puck moving forward, no matter how the other side played. Canada has had to channel that spirit over the newly built Windsor-Detroit bridge bearing Gordie Howe’s...
It’s back. As dangerous wildfire smoke blanketed much of the northeast part of our continent, the conversation about our new climate change-driven normal returned with a depressingly predictable vengeance. So too did the loopy comments from Republican politicians in the United States, reflecting a fundamental misunderstanding of both climate science and geographic realities. It is tempting, I’m sure, for some...
As Spain’s team was basking in its victory at the World Cup medal ceremony on Sunday, Donald Trump had to be nudged offstage by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Images of Trump getting the hook went viral, with plenty of cheers for anyone who dared giving this president a timeout. And it didn’t stop there. The Spanish team then went on...
Gordie Howe must be turning over in his grave. The political football attached to the bridge bearing the legendary hockey player’s name has made a laughing stock of signed agreements. It seems the president of the United States has the power to unilaterally shut down bridges and revoke red cards in international sporting events.
Two recent developments have exposed weaknesses in relations between Indigenous communities and the rest of Canada that could derail the Carney government’s infrastructure, energy, and growth agendas as well as progress towards reconciliation. Last Tuesday, it was announced that five First Nations in British Columbia have agreed to pay up to one billion dollars for a majority equity position in...
The Conservative activist Ben Woodfinden was in despair. “I’m more depressed about the state of conservative politics in Canada right now than I think I’ve ever been,” he lamented in a widely read post online. “I look at all sorts of conservative camps and factions right now and I see intellectual poverty everywhere.” The comment was occasioned, in particular, by...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promise to lead Canada out of the economic and foreign policy shadow of the United States, and his bizarre Davos plan to lead a Thucydidean “middle power” revolt against Washington, has accomplished virtually nothing. Highly publicized overtures to China and western Europe are inconsequential. The United States still buys 68 per cent of our exports and...
This week, the world marks International Justice Day and the 28th anniversary of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court. All these years later, it remains among the most consequential efforts ever made to hold war criminals accountable. Now Washington has announced its intention to “dismantle the ICC brick by brick, if necessary.”
Can we just try to empathize with poor Tourism Minister Stan Cho, who is currently enjoying his five-month summer break from the provincial legislature, while earning $232,340 annually thanks to a pay bump legislators gave themselves last year? He had to spend 30 whole days at Queen’s Park during the spring session, and 28 days during the fall session, which...
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed four people to the Senate, including his principal secretary and a sitting Conservative MP, while announcing his government will be making changes to the Senate appointment process. The move instantly drew criticism as the two appointments represented a marked shift from the way former prime minister Justin Trudeau appointed senators, strongly indicating that...
A global coalition of middle powers, led by Canada, is little more than “hubbub,” says a senior Trump administration official. The United States, he says, has never been more necessary or relevant. “We are not concerned,” wrote Under Secretary of Defense Eldridge Colby on social media this week, that a middle-power alliance capable of rivalling America “is a serious possibility.”...
For many years, Elbridge Colby has been one of the loudest voices in Washington calling for America’s NATO allies to pay their “fair share” on defence, in order to allow the United States to pivot toward the growing challenge of China.
Everybody knows Pierre Poilievre has a favourite adviser, whose counsel and wisdom he values above all. That adviser’s name: Pierre Poilievre. Where once it was the Conservatives’ greatest asset, however, Poilievre’s love affair with Poilievre has become a liability according to some Tories, and morale within the party has sagged to new depths.
If you’re Pierre Poilievre, you must be wondering, on some level, where everyone has been. Why are so many Tories suddenly complaining about the same personality you’ve had all along, and which they seemed to find so beguiling — or at least useful — when its most caustic bits were mobilized and sent into battle against Justin Trudeau’s prime ministership...
If the first rule of ransoms is that you don’t pay them, what to make of Mark Carney’s payoff to Donald Trump to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge? Make no mistake: Canada paid what amounts to a bribe. The Liberal government can dress it up as a “series of co-operative measures” regarding the governance of the new border crossing...
Raise a glass to Doug Ford, and most of his fellow premiers, for continuing to keep American liquor off our shelves. Because if there was somehow any doubt that we need to hold on to any sliver of leverage against Donald Trump, as trade negotiations heat up, it was erased by the way his hostage-taking of the Gordie Howe bridge...
Disagreement emerging on how to convince U.S. president to back off latest tariff threat. Canada's premiers are insisting they form a united Team Canada in the face of U.S. Donald Trump's escalated trade war — despite disagreement on how to get him to drop the impending tariffs. "Nothing unites like a common opponent and there's no more popular opponent in...
The CEO of the Crown corporation planning the high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City says Kingston, Ont., will probably get a stop because of public feedback asking for it. Martin Imbleau told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Wednesday a stop there is "doable," ridership is expected to be strong and that a stop there makes a lot of...
Amid conflicting messaging and questions surrounding the agreed-upon revenue sharing between Canada and the U.S., details of the deal to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge were released late Tuesday. The official details come more than 10 days after the federal government announced the delayed bridge would open on July 27, and contrasts previous comments made by Prime Minister Mark...
Pollsters say Canadians won’t blame Prime Minister Mark Carney for any potential shortcomings in his approach with the Trump administration. Conservatives have criticized Carney (Nepean, Ont.) for offering “contradictions” on the agreement reached with United States President Donald Trump to open the Gordie Howe Bridge later this month.
Introduced in June, the Digital Safety Act aims to reduce online harms, particularly for children, and impose a duty of responsibility on social media platforms. However, observers say it’s a blank cheque for the federal government to regulate. While Bill C-34 would create a new Digital Safety Commission to oversee much of the regulation of online spaces, its intention to...
Currently under house arrest, Lich has already sought and received exemptions from 2025 sentence. Tamara Lich, a key figure in the 2022 convoy protest that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for nearly a month, is back in town Wednesday to ask a court for permission to travel internationally, including going on a Caribbean cruise and visiting the White House. Lich was found...
A coalition of civil society groups is pushing back against criticism by a federal cabinet minister and Jewish organizations of a museum exhibit on Palestinian displacement. The Canadian Museum of Human Rights, a federal Crown corporation in Winnipeg, has faced a torrent of criticism over its exhibit on the Nakba, the forced displacement of about 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Manitoba's NDP has easily held a riding in the province's north in a byelection. Unofficial results posted by Elections Manitoba say Jennifer Flett received 2,635 votes on Tuesday in The Pas-Kameesak, well ahead of Progressive Conservative candidate Edna Nabess, who received 616 votes. Dan Quesnel of the Manitoba Liberal Party got 165 votes, while Wally Daudrich under the Keystone Party banner received 105 votes.
The federal government said Tuesday that in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats, Canada will not be celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International bridge with the United States. "It would be inappropriate to proceed with a celebratory event between the two countries," said Jenna Ghassabeh, spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, in an emailed statement...
The premiers of nine provinces announced Tuesday that they're removing major barriers to interprovincial sales of alcohol. The deal says provincial rules will be changed to allow brewers and distillers to sell alcohol directly to consumers, regardless of jurisdiction. It knocks down a number of trade barriers across the country. Direct-to-consumer sales of beer, wine and spirits manufactured in one...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he had agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump to ramp up trade negotiations over the coming weeks — but that Canada is considering “all options” to respond if sweeping new U.S. tariffs take effect next month. “We agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks, and the team and myself look forward to doing that,”...
A senior member of Premier Danielle Smith's government is again skirting questions about how he'll vote in Alberta's upcoming referendum on whether the province should remain in Canada. Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen was asked repeatedly Tuesday whether he'd vote for Alberta to stay or vote to hold a second referendum on quitting Canada. He responded by saying that it's an...
'The one way to embolden a bully is to capitulate,' says Eby. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's "losing patience" following U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff hit and urged the federal government to "hit him back as hard as we can." "I'm tired of the bully trying to take our lunch money all the time. We always seem to...
‘Over the years, ever since I was a kid, Delta farmland has been split up by this project or the other. Do we need one more huge interruption going through our farmland?’
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada has to go on “the offence” when it comes to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. “We need a plan from the prime minister,” he said during a media availability in P.E.I. on Tuesday afternoon, where is attending meetings with fellow premiers. “I’m tired of the bully trying to take our lunch money all the...
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke with President Donald Trump Tuesday morning and they agreed to intensify trade negotiations after the U.S. administration announced it would hammer some Canadian products with steep new tariffs. "As always, Canadians — governments, business, labour — will stand together to build Canada strong and to have a trading relationship with our North American...
President Donald Trump’s latest trade threat against Canada carries a stark reminder for businesses weighing expansion in the northern nation — tariff-free access to the US is far from guaranteed. On Monday, the Trump administration said it would add a new 50% tariff on Canadian packaging products, textiles, horticultural items and other goods, representing about 5% of its exports to...
Canada has become the first country to gain observer status in a future fighter jet program run by the U.K., Japan and Italy, even as a decision on Ottawa's current order of F-35s remains up in the air. As an observer nation, Ottawa will gain insider access to information about the Global Combat Air Program as the sixth-generation fighter is...
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet virtually with the country's premiers Tuesday afternoon after the U.S. announced increased tariffs on Canadian goods. P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz said Tuesday morning at the Council of the Federation meeting in Charlottetown that the virtual meeting with the prime minister had been added to the agenda. Carney was originally scheduled to meet with premiers...
Latest Spark Insights survey shows two thirds would prefer a Carney government to one led by Pierre Poilievre. Since the start of 2026, our survey results have found that two out of three Canadians generally approve of the performance of the Carney government. There has been very little fluctuation during that period of time, all of it essentially within what...
Opposition MPs call on federal government to release text of agreement. Opposition MPs are expressing increasing frustration over the lack of details about how a deal between the U.S. and Canada to open a long-awaited major border crossing will work, with several calling on the federal government to release a copy of the agreement. Both the Conservatives and NDP have...
Library and Archives Canada has ended proactive declassification activities that helped lower the security classification of historical government records, a move access and archival experts say removes one part of an already limited federal system for making older records easier to process and release.
he new revenue-sharing model over the Gordie Howe International Bridge will see Canada repay its debt, but only after net revenue is split with the United States over the first 15 years, a senior government source confirmed to the Star. The statement came after days of confusion and ambiguity caused by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarks after he announced that...
Domestic trade and major projects will be on the agenda as Canada's premiers gather Tuesday in Prince Edward Island for a three-day meeting coloured by a renewed tariff threat from U.S. President Donald Trump. The annual summer gathering of provincial and territorial leaders will culminate with Prime Minister Mark Carney joining the discussion Thursday. The premiers will also meet with...
Surprise tariffs all but certainly change tone and focus for Council of the Federation. U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise escalation in his trade war with Canada puts renewed pressure on the premiers — most of whom have pulled American booze from liquor stores — as they descend on Charlottetown for their annual summer meeting. The White House announced on Monday...
While the federal government has yet to sort out what it's doing with its order for a full fleet of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets, it's already looking to the next big thing. Ottawa is widely expected to announce Tuesday it will join a sixth-generation fighter jet program run by the U.K., Japan and Italy -- not as a participant but...
George Harvie, mayor of Delta, B.C., has been sounding the alarm over security and crime at the province's port facilities for years, and he has plenty of questions as the federal government pushes a massive port expansion project in his city. The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion project was referred to the major projects office last week for potential fast-tracking...
President Donald Trump signed orders Monday to hammer certain Canadian products with 50 per cent tariffs, escalating trade tensions with the United States' northern neighbour. "President Trump took decisive action to hold Canada accountable for its retaliation and discrimination, delivering on his promise to correct trade imbalances and ensure fairness for American workers, farmers, and businesses," United States Trade Representative...
President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products. The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump's return to the White...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans on Capitol Hill are walking a cautious election-year line on the Iran war as the future of the conflict seems increasingly uncertain and polls show most Americans think the war isn't worth fighting.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that the U.S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Canada by threatening to use an obscure Great Depression-era legal tool to impose new tariffs -- and it's not clear whether there are any guardrails to rein in the president's power.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Sen. Darline Graham said Monday she's running for a full term to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham's Senate seat.
As the ambassador rose to address a roomful of suits, he held a plastic shot glass of spirit. “To U.S.-Canadian friendship, partnership and success,” said Pete Hoekstra, Washington’s ambassador to Canada, bringing the cup to his mouth. It was before 10 a.m. on Monday morning – part of a new tradition, he said, of raising a glass at forums like...
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada is doing foreign policy differently by reviving stagnant relationships with countries on multiple continents in pursuit of trade. "It is diplomacy like Canada has not done before, in the recent past," Anand said Monday in an interview from Islamabad, where she was meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister. It's the first visit by a...
Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian officials offered congratulations to new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham — while suggesting there are areas in which the two countries can strengthen relations. Burnham was officially sworn in on Monday, becoming the fifth British prime minister in four years and the seventh in a decade. Carney offered congratulations to Burnham in a...
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says if smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket New Jersey ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump will not hesitate to ask the game be postponed. “If the pollution is so bad that it’s dangerous to the players or it’s dangerous to the fans, the first person to...
Mexico's foreign secretary says his country isn't looking to cut a deal with the U.S. if it means abandoning the trilateral trade pact with Canada. When asked Friday if Mexico would go it alone on a trade deal with the U.S., Roberto Velasco Álvarez shook his head and said all three countries that make up the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) have...
Chery Automobile has become one of China’s most important global automakers. Less well known in North America than BYD or Geely, Chery has nevertheless spent more than two decades building an export-oriented business across emerging and developed markets. The company’s growing interest in Canada therefore presents both an opportunity and a policy challenge. For Canadian consumers, Chery could offer more...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated a desire for change in the federal public service to deliver on the Liberal government’s Make Canada Strong agenda. He hopes to realign the country’s economic and political relations to respond to new global and North American realities. The question is whether the public service has the capacity to effectively and efficiently execute such...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Peter Nicholson: Thanks, Chris. Since the events of July 2 we have quite a bit more information on the agreement between Canada and Alberta over the rules that are going to govern both the pipeline and oil sands production developments. I think there is a growing recognition that a pipeline shouldn’t be a “field of dreams” – that it is...
Prime Minister Carney has made clear from the outset of his time in office that without a commitment to implement the Pathways carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, there would be no new bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast. The expectation was formalized in the Nov. 27 Alberta-Ottawa MOU and the May 15 Implementation Agreement. The oil sands industry has...
An Indigenous couple’s remains, repatriated to Canada six years ago, have yet to find a final resting place because their “spiritual belongings” are being held by museums in the United Kingdom. Six objects associated with Demasduit and Nonosabasut, among the last of the Beothuks of Newfoundland, are being retained by the National Museums Scotland and by the British Museum. Thanks...
On Monday night, US President Donald Trump signed orders to impose a 50 per cent tariff on a wide swath of Canadian goods ranging from hockey sticks to envelopes to Christmas decorations. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect on August 19th. Prime Minister Mark Carney says he spoke with Trump on Tuesday morning and that they have agreed to...
Another round of 50% tariffs are coming for a number of Canadian goods, ranging from dairy, hockey sticks to hair wigs. Prime Minister Carney has since agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks. US President Trump's reason for the tariffs was to address what he calls Canada's "discrimination against and unreasonable and unequal treatment of U.S. commerce". Host Caryn...
Nearly 900 wildfires are burning across Canada, and early estimates suggest Ontario is experiencing its worst wildfire season on record. In Northwest Ontario, more than a dozen communities – most of which are First Nations – have been evacuated, with some people taken to places as far away as Niagara Falls. As fire seasons get worse, Indigenous people are disproportionately...
It’s no secret that there are factions in the Conservative movement in Canada and that not everyone gets along. But over the last couple of weeks Conservative infighting has spilled out into the public with barbs in speeches, podcasts, and social media.
